Epilogue
by Zorg771
Summary: WARNING: TAKES PLACE AFTER “CLEAVED.” IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT YET, DO NOT READ. Star and Marco, together at last, try to learn how to live in the new world they’ve created, while making many new memories along the way. May contain mild language, suggestive themes, and a TON of Starco fluff.
1. Chapter 1: At Last

"Hey." He smiled at her.

"Hi." She smiled at him.

Tears started to form in their eyes. They simply couldn't hold back the emotion anymore. So much fighting, so much pain, so much heartbreak and suffering to get to this one moment; to save Mewni and Earth, to destroy magic, to finally be happy, and to finally be cleaved together. It didn't take very long for them to latch onto each other in their strongest embrace yet.

"Star..." Marco started, sniffling. "We...we made it."

"Yeah..." Star replied, trying to hold back from sobbing. "We did."

Marco pulled her head from his shoulder, and made her look at him face-to-face. They couldn't help but smile at each other. They tried wiping the tears from each other's face with their thumbs, yet the water continued to flow. They didn't care anymore, if they were being completely honest. All they cared about was being in that beautiful moment, and being with the person they loved the most.

"I love you," they said in unison. At that moment, the couple couldn't take it a second longer. Marco pulled her face to his, and their lips connected in a way they had never felt before. An absolutely perfect fit. Marco cupped his hand on Star's cheek, while her arms were locked tightly around the back of his neck. The two were in pure ecstasy. Nothing could have possibly made them any happier than they were right then. They felt something warm on their cheeks, and reluctantly decided to pull away for a moment and examine.

"Woahhhh...Marco, look, we still have our cheek marks!" The marks were there, glowing brighter than ever, until they slowly began to fade away. Once again, nothing was there.

"Aaaand they're gone again," Marco stated. "I guess, it's just something that appears only when we...y'know." He made a slight shrugging motion. Star couldn't help but giggle.

"Well, at least we still have _something_ left of the magic. Plus, it looks _really_ cute on you, Diaz. Boop!" She exclaimed while poking Marco's cheeks. She held onto his hand as they looked at the new world around them. "This is...crazy, Marco! We brought Earth and Mewni together!"

"I know, Star. This is...a _lot_ to take in, to say the least. But if we're gonna do anything right now, I think we should probably find your Mom and Eclipsa first."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Are you ready for another adventure, Marco?" She looked at him, smiling with pure joy. He gladly smiled right back.

"Always."


	2. Chapter 2: A New Era

"Mom? Eclipsa? Anyone here?" Star and Marco walked through Monster Castle in hopes of finding Moon and the rest of the Butterfly family. Star began to hear a faint voice in the distance.

"Star? Is that you, sweetie?" Star recognized the voice immediately as her mom's. She turned to the voice's direction and saw her down the hallway, alongside Eclipsa and her family.

"MAMA!" Star exclaimed as she ran towards Moon. She leapt into her arms and gave her a big bear hug. "Where have you guys been?"

"Well, dear, all we saw was a huge...explosion," Moon began. "We couldn't see you from the Magic Temple, or what was left of it, so we decided to come up here to get a better view and try to find you."

"Oh man, the craziest thing happened!" Star exclaimed. "I guess when me and Marco were in the Magic Realm, we created a HUGE portal between Earth and Mewni. We both tried to reach it before it exploded and..."

"All of a sudden, I think Earth and Mewni connected," Marco interrupted. Marco stepped from behind Star and revealed himself.

"Marco, you're alright!" Moon, Eclipsa, and Globgor said in unison as they embraced him.

"Mako!" Meteora shouted while giggling and clapping her hands.

"Haha! It appears Meteora missed you too," Globgor said.

"Well, that's a shocker," Marco chuckled. "Maybe I'm starting to finally grow on her!" he exclaimed with slight confidence in his voice.

"Eh, I doubt it, I think she just missed messing with you," Globgor replied. "But hey, you never know!" Star was watching the group hug from background, her expression turning slightly sour.

"_Okay_, I think Marco's had enough hugs from you guys now," she said with slight jealousy in her voice. Everyone let go of Marco, chuckling to themselves slightly. _"Geez, does EVERYONE have the hots for __Marco or something?" _Star thought to herself.

"So, Earth and Mewni are...joined together?" Eclipsa questioned.

"Preeety much," Star responded.

"That's insane! Think of how many problems that could cause in society," Moon stated. "We have to have a meeting with the people of...what do they call that place Marco's from?"

"Echo Creek," Star explained.

"Right. Let's get going, we don't have much daylight left," Moon commanded.

The group ran straight to the City Hall of Echo Creek, as fast as they could possibly run. They stood on the front steps as the people around them were screaming in terror.

"The end has come! The end is HERE! AHHHHH," one man screamed at the top of his lungs as he was seemingly being chased by a giant spider.

"Uhhh, so how are we supposed to get these people to listen to us?" Star asked. "They're literally crazy!"

"TALLY HO!" a distant voice shouted. The group looked up in the sky as River himself flew down to the steps on his huge War-Eagle.

"PAPA!" Star happily shouted as she went to embrace her father as he stepped down from his favorite ride.

"Star, my dear, you're okay," River responded. "I see my boy Marco is alright as well!"

"Hey River," Marco said to him, waving.

"Dad, we need your help," Star started, grabbing River's shoulders. "We're trying to gather everybody up and they're just flailing their arms around like monkeys!"

"Not to worry, darling, I brought just the thing," River confidently stated with a smug face. He pulled out a large war horn from his satchel and took a deep breath before blowing into it, making the largest _BWAAAHHH_ sound Marco thought he ever heard. "Trust me, this always works, people love loud noises!" The frightened people began to calm down, and started walking towards the noise.

"Alright, somebody's gotta make a speech, and there's no way it's gonna be me," Globgor whispered as the crowd gathered.

"Moon, dear, you should do it, you're great at those!" River stated.

"No," Moon responded. "My days of being a leader are over. I think..." she looked over at Eclipsa and gave her a slight smile. "I think it's time for the rightful Queen to lead her people." Eclipsa smiled back, eyes slightly watering.

"Thank you, Moon. I'll do my best." Marco handed Eclipsa a surprisingly working microphone he found at the top of the City Hall stairs. "Thank you, dear." She turned to the people, who gathered around the building.

"Everyone..." she started. "I am Eclipsa Butterfly, one of many past Butterfly queens from the dimension of Mewni. There are many different dimensions in this universe we live in, and through some very powerful magic..." Star and Marco looked at each other and smiled knowingly as he placed an arm around her, as Eclipsa continued. "...the dimension of Earth and the dimension of Mewni have collided into one." The crowd began to slightly whisper to each other. "I know it sounds crazy, but, I mean, there's a gigantic spider walking around so it shouldn't be too hard to believe at this point." The spider overheard, and turned to Eclipsa and the crowd.

"Sup," the spider calmly stated as he lifted one of his legs as a sign of greeting.

"Huh," Marco said quietly as the spider walked off.

"Anyways..." Eclipsa began once again. "...luckily, this collision seems to have only spread throughout the city of Echo Creek. No other area in Earth seems to be affected that we know of." A sigh of relief could be heard throughout the crowd. "But this collision _is_ indeed permanent, because magic as we know it has been destroyed, so we're going to have to learn how to live with it. Mewmans were originally humans, so it shouldn't be too hard to connect with each other. But there's one more group that will be living in this city: Monsters." The humans of the crowd shuddered. "Now, I know they sound like awful creatures that only care about ripping you to shreds and eating your insides, but believe it or not, deep down, they're just like everyone else. They have emotion, they have feelings, they want to be loved like everyone else. Trust me, I know. I married one." She glanced at Globgor, who gave her a slight smile. "We even had a beautiful Mewman/Monster baby!" Eclipsa lifted Meteora as she giggled and shouted "GAHHH!" The crowd began to "aww." "I believe it would be in everyone's best interest, if Mewmans, Humans, and Monsters came together as one people: the people of Echo Creek, and would accept me as their Queen, Mayor, or whatever you want to call it. Now, who is with me?"

Everyone looked at the previous Mayor of Echo Creek, who was currently being carried off by a stray dragoncycle. "Eh, I'm cool with it," he nonchalantly stated.

There was total silence for a moment, until someone on the front row made a comment. "I LIKE THIS!" This caused the entire crowd to join in and shout in joy. Eclipsa glimmered in joy at the happy people.

"Wait a second!" A voice exclaimed that silenced the crowd for a moment. A figure could be seen navigating his way through the people until the familiar demon with three eyes could be seen arriving at the front of the steps. "Tom!" Star and Marco exclaimed in joy. Tom smiled at them, and gave them a slight wave before turning to Eclipsa. "Eclipsa, I think we can all agree that if we're gonna do this thing, this city needs a better name than dumb ol' 'Echo Creek.'"

"But, hey, that's been the name for generations!" Principal Skeeves shouted in slight offense.

"Well, you know what? This is a whole new start of generations. Right here, right now," Tom replied with a confident smile.

"I agree," Star added. "I think we should call this place..." Star began as her eyes brightly shined in joy. A joy that was ready for a new era, a fresh start for her, her family, and the people of this new city.

"Earthni."


	3. Chapter 3: Aftermath

**Hey Everyone! Zorg here! Before Chapter 3 begins, I would just like to say, thank you all so much for supporting this story so far. It really means a lot to me that some of you can't wait for when I make the next chapter, and that in turn makes me love writing this fic even more! I love this show to death, and being able to keep those who are still loyal to the fandom (even after the final episode) engaged and entertained is truly a blessing. One more thing, I just wanted to make it clear that I named the city "Earthni" based on Brian H. Kim's (the composer for SVTFOE) title for one of the tracks in "Cleaved." With all that said, please enjoy Chapter 3!**

———

The bright orange sun was slowly dimming, and beginning to set over the city of Earthni. The townsfolk who were at the City Hall meeting earlier were making their ways to their home. Luckily, a new apartment complex had recently been built near the local Stop n' Slurp, so most of the monsters and mewmans set up shop there until they could find a true home in town. Star, Marco, Eclipsa and her family, Moon, and River were still on the front steps of City Hall.

"Well, everyone, I suppose it's best that we all find a place to get some shuteye," Moon stated. "We can begin figuring out what to do next tomorrow. Star, do you have a place to stay?" Star was slightly taken back by the question. She hadn't even thought about where to stay yet.

"S-she can always stay with me and my family, Moon!" Marco nervously added. Star smiled at his comment. It was nice for Star, hearing him say that he wanted her to stay with him. The first day they met, it seemed like he didn't want anything to do with her until after the fight, and now it seemed like they couldn't live without each other. There were zero doubts that she would love to live with him at the Diaz household once again.

"Oh, Marco, there's no need to be so nervous when asking that kind of question," Moon responded, slightly smiling. "Of course she can stay with you. She's lived with you before, and I have no doubt in my mind that the two of you will behave. Besides, I know how much you both mean for each other now." Star and Marco turned slightly red at that last comment.

"Thanks Mom," Star said. "Hugs!" She embraced with her mother, and both were glad that they were able to forgive and forget what happened with the Solarian Warriors. "Well, we better get going, I'm sure the Diaz's are worried sick," Star began. "Bye Mom, bye Dad, bye Eclipsa, bye Globgor, bye Meteora! See you guys tomorrow!" They all waved at her and made their own way as Star turned around to get Marco. "C'mon let's go Marc-" she stopped herself when Marco wasn't right beside her like he was a few moments ago. "Marco?" It took her eyes a moment to find him, slumped down on the sidewalk, staring at the pavement, kicking any pebbles he saw nearby. She walked down to where he was sitting and sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Marco, what's wrong?" Marco let out a heavy sigh.

"It's just...I've been thinking about how we destroyed the magic, and I thought about our friends from _other_ dimensions, like Kelly and Talon. We'll...never get to see them again..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Star began. "It hurts when you know you'll never see someone again, but trust me, I'm sure they're happy in their own dimensions."

"A-and Glossaryck and Hekapoo...they're..." tears began to form in Marco's eyes. "They're..." Star pulled Marco in for a hug, and let him cry on her shoulder as she placed her chin on his own shoulder.

"I know, Marco, I know. It's okay," Star softly whispered as tears of her own started falling. "Y'know what? Tomorrow, we can have a proper funeral for them both. I'll make sure of it. They meant a lot to me too."

"You'd...really do that?" Marco questioned as he pulled his head away from her shoulder to face her. She smiled at him.

"For you, Diaz? _Anything_." She gave him a small peck on the cheek before she got up from the sidewalk. He gave her a slight smile as he wiped his tears away and picked himself up off the pavement.

"Now, c'mon," Star ordered. "Let's not give your parents a heart attack." At this point, the sun was almost out of view, and the stars began to light up the sky, like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

"Wow...the stars are...beautiful," Marco began as he grabbed Star's hand as they walked to the Diaz household. "It's a good thing I've got the most beautiful one right here next to me," he proudly stated as he looked over at his girlfriend, who seemed to almost glow in the night sky (at least, that's what Marco thought).

She looked at him, confused for a moment, until she realized what he was implying. She began having a hard time holding back laughter. "Pbbthhh! Oh, Marco. Poor, sweet, innocent Marco. That was _incredibly, INCREDIBLY _corny." Marco was extremely flustered from her response as she continued to chuckle.

"H-hey, I meant what I said, okay?" he bashfully responded as he folded his arms and slightly turned his face away from her, not wanting to reveal his blushing face.

"I know," Star stated, as Marco turned his head back around to face her. "And that's why I love you: you're the cutest, weirdest, corniest idiot in the universe." Marco sighed in what seemed to be annoyance, but couldn't help but grin at her adorable remarks.

"Let's just go home."


	4. Chapter 4: Home

_Ding Dong!_ Star and Marco could tell that the doorbell was heard almost instantly, judging by the frantic steps that approached the front door of the Diaz household. The door was opened quickly.

"Marco!" Mr. and Mrs. Diaz said in union. They quickly embraced him.

"Oh, honey, we're so glad you're okay!" Angie started. "We saw you on the news when that lady was giving the speech, but we weren't sure if you would even be able to come home!"

"Oh, c'mon, of course I'd come home," Marco said while giving Mariposa a peck on the forehead. She giggled in response. The focus then turned to Star, who was also hugged by the Diaz's.

"It's so good to see you guys," Star began. "And how could I forget you, Mariposa?" she said in a cute baby voice as she let go of Angie and Rafael, picked their infant daughter up, and began to cradle her. Mariposa smiled and snuggled her head into Star's chest.

"Well, she definitely remembers you," Angie added. Star handed Rafael Mariposa back after a few moments.

"Forgetting someone?" Janna said, revealing herself from behind the Diaz's. Star gasped.

"Janna Banana!" She exclaimed as she gave Janna a quick hug. "Of course I missed you too!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I came home with the Diaz's after the doctors said I was fine. They have a _lot _more channels on their TV than my TV has, or probably ever _will_ have, so I figured hey, why not watch you guys on the news here? Anyways, I better get going, my parents will kill me if I'm not home by nine. See you guys later."

"Later Janna," Marco said. "And, hey." Janna stopped herself from closing the door and turned around to face Marco. He smiled at her. "Thanks again for helping me out earlier, and for calling me your friend." She grinned back.

"Anytime, Diaz." She closed the door and began to make her way home.

"Well, Star, you know that you are always welcome to stay with us," Rafael stated. "We had a small guest room built where your magic bedroom used to be, so feel free to stay there."

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. I'll go ahead and get set up all my stuff in there," Star gratefully responded.

"We'll have dinner ready in about 30 minutes," Angie said.

"Tonight is Taco Tuesday Night! My favorite!" Rafael proudly added.

Star began to walk up the stairs before seeing a bunch of tiny puppies come at her full speed, barking as they ran. "LAZER PUPPIES! Oh, I missed you guys so much!"

Marco picked one up, and to his surprise, he didn't get zapped in the eye. "Hey, Star? I think they're just _normal_ puppies now."

"Huh," she responded. "Well, that doesn't take away anything from their _adorableness_, now does it?"

Marco couldn't be happier that their painful rays seemed to be gone for good. "Nope, not at all."

———

Star tidied up all her things in the guest room, and everyone had dinner. After tacos, they all agreed it was time to get some rest after an extremely eventful day. Before making their way to their beds, Star and Marco met in the hallway upstairs. She had on her usual nightgown, while he had on his usual jammies.

"What a day, huh?" Marco asked, facing her.

"What a day indeed, Diaz," Star responded. "Well, I guess this is goodnight."

"Goodnight, Star," Marco stated before turning around and beginning to walk to his bedroom. Before he could get very far, he felt his arm being grabbed by a soft hand. He turned around to see Star right behind him.

"W-Wait. I uh, just need one more thing," Star said while smiling. She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. Marco didn't realize how much he needed it until it happened. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her in as tight as he could. It lasted a few more seconds, before Star forced herself to pull away. They lightly touched their foreheads together, gazed at each other for a moment, and smiled. "Goodnight, Marco. For real this time," Star said.

"See you tomorrow, princess," Marco said before opening his bedroom door and beginning to walk inside.

"Marco, how many times do we have to go through this? I'm not _actually_ a princess anymore."

"I know," Marco smugly responded before closing his door. Star rolled her eyes, but she couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face. She sighed lovingly. _"That's my dork,"_ she thought to herself. She walked inside the guest room, hopped into bed, and quickly drifted off, same as Marco.

In her eyes, there was no other place she could call home.


	5. Chapter 5: Stay

It was around one in the morning when the storm started outside of the Diaz household. Thunder and lighting plagued most of Earthni at this time. The raindrops made a continuous _pitter-patter_ on the window in Star's room. She was asleep, but she continued to toss and turn in her bed.

_"Bye, Star."_ The words ran through her mind.

"Ngh...nnoo...no...NO!" she yelled as she sat straight up in her bed, startled from her slumber. She felt a cold sweat throughout her body as she sat there, breathing heavily. Marco almost broke her door down trying to open it. He quickly entered the room.

"Star! What's wrong!? Are you okay!?" Marco questioned frantically as he ran towards her and sat next to her on the bed.

"I...I..." She couldn't make out any words, even if she tried. All she could do was sob, as she let herself fall into Marco's arms.

_"Oh, thank God. It was just a bad dream,"_ Marco thought to himself as he sighed in relief. Thunder continued to rumble outside.

Star collected herself enough to be able to speak. "I saw...the portal, Marco. I-It exploded, but Earth and Mewni didn't connect. You were still in another dimension, you were...gone. I didn't know what to do, magic was gone and there was nothing I could do...I..."

Marco wrapped his arms around her in hopes of calming her down. "Shhhh...it's okay, Star. I'm here. It was just a nightmare. I'm here," he whispered as he let his index finger run circles around her back, trying to soothe her in any way that was possible. Star sniffled. He pulled her face in front of his. "You okay now?" he asked. She slightly nodded her head in response. "You done getting my shirt soaked?" He jokingly asked her as he wiped the tears from her face. Even through the tears, she was able to let out a tiny laugh and smile at him. "Mhm," she answered. The sound of thunder struck once again.

"M-Marco?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you...stay here? Just for tonight?" she asked, looking at him with a desperate expression. He looked back at her for a moment, before smiling.

"Of course, Star," Marco answered. "Just gimme a sec." He got up and made his way to the door, which he quietly closed, hoping that he wouldn't wake his parents; that is, if they weren't awake already. Star took this time to crawl back under the covers on the right side of the bed, and fluff up the pillow on the left side. Next, Marco went in the closet and grabbed one of the spare blankets and a pillow. He began to lay the blanket and pillow down beside the left side of the bed.

"Uh, Marco? What are you doing?" Star questioned.

"Just setting up where I'm gonna sleep. Gotta snooze somewhere, ri-"

"Marco," Star interrupted. "You're not sleeping on the floor." Marco turned a bit red from her statement.

"O-Oh. Are...you sure, Star?"

"As your girlfriend, Diaz, there's nothing more I want right now than for you to crawl up here and lay right beside me," she proudly stated, smiling at him. Marco stopped himself for a moment. Deep down, he knew he wanted it too.

"...Okay," he said, before climbing up on the left side of the bed. He crawled under the covers and got himself comfortable. He looked to his right, and there she was. The most beautiful girl he though he had ever seen in his life, just a few feet away.

"To be honest, I can't remember how many times I've told you goodnight so far tonight, but hopefully this is the last time," Star said while chuckling. Marco laughed at her comment. "Goodnight, Marco."

"Goodnight, Star." They both closed their eyes.

About a minute passed before Marco heard a _rustle._ He opened his eyes, and just saw her. Huh, he could have sworn she wasn't that close to him the last time he had his eyes on her. He brushed it off and closed his eyes once again. Another minute, another _rustle_. He opened his eyes once again. Okay, she was _definitely_ closer than before. He was curious of how much further she'd go. He shut his eyes once more. Another _rustle. _This time, though, he felt something wrap around his waist. An arm. _Her_ arm. Not a sound was made. He felt something intertwine with his legs. A leg. _Her_ leg. He could hear her heartbeat she was so close at this point. Suddenly, Marco felt the urge to move his arm. It was almost automatic. He felt it wrap around her body. It felt...right.

They both opened their eyes at the same time. They stared into each other's pupils for a moment. She gave him a slight smile. He gave her one right back. No words were spoken, yet no words were needed. They closed their eyes for the final time. They finally drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The storm seemed to have died down.


	6. Chapter 6: Paying Tribute

The sun began to rise over the populated, yet quiet city of Earthni. The sun's rays shone through the window of Star's bedroom. Marco woke to the sound of birds chirping on a fairly large tree just outside the house. He always was a light sleeper. He looked down slightly and he saw Star, the heavy sleeper she was, still dozing off in his arms. He lifted his head slightly to get a good view of the alarm clock on the nightstand behind her. "8:00 AM." He figured it would be a good time to get up and get dressed for the long day ahead of them. He slowly moved his arms and legs away from her, desperately trying to make sure he didn't wake her up. He turned around and sat on the edge of the bed. He almost got off the bed, before he felt a hand on his arm that seemed to beg him to lie back down.

"Mm...five...more...minutes...Diazzz..." Star mumbled, half asleep.

_"Dammit,"_ Marco thought to himself. He turned back around and saw her, still peacefully lying there, eyes shut. Her face almost looked grumpy that he was getting up. "Star, what are you doing up?" he asked her.

"I could...ask you...same thinnng..." she replied, hand still on his arm.

"Well, I just figured I'd go ahead and get ready for today," he explained.

"...Screw that..." she responded.

"B-But Star, it's eight o'clo-"

"Which is definitely..._yawn_...waaayyy too...early," she interrupted. "Now get your cute little butt...back over here," she commanded. "Earthni can wait...five more minutes before Sir Marco takes it by storm," she teased. Marco let out a heavy sigh. He knew no matter what he said, she would be victorious in the end. He decided to accept his inevitable fate.

"Alright, alright, you win." He lay back down beside her, got back under the covers, and pulled her close to him once again. "Five minutes. If that clock says 8:06 and we're not fully dressed and out the door, we're gonna have some serious issues," he said jokingly. She gave him a small giggle and a smirk, eyes still closed.

"Five minutes...promise..." she said before they both dozed off once again.

They left the room at nine to have breakfast.

———

"We are gathered here today..." Eclipsa began. "...to pay respects to those who passed away due to the destruction of magic." It was twelve in the afternoon when the funeral service began in the Earthni Funeral Garden (formerly the Echo Creek Funeral Garden). The sky was overcast, but luckily no raindrops fell. "There are many who we do not know the name of, and we take this time to give them a moment of silence." Humans, mewmans, and monsters showed up, although those whose lives were never affected by creatures of magic, or magic in general, could not express sorrow, only pity for those whose lives _were_. Eclipsa stood in front of many new graves, along with one slightly larger grave that represented those whose names were unknown. Star, Marco, Moon, River, Globgor, and Meteora were in the front row of the crowd that was ready to listen to the rest of what their new leader planned to say.

"Thank you. We will now list those who have passed that we know the name of, those from the Magic High Commision. Omnitraxus Prime. Rhombulus. Reynaldo." Everyone's expression remained neutral. "Hekapoo." Marco took a deep breath. Star began to slowly rub his back with her left hand. "And lastly, Glossaryck." Marco put his arm around Star. Eclipsa and the front row began to express clear sadness in their faces from hearing the last name listed. "Everyone who showed up to this service...thank you for giving the fallen a bit of your time. You may now go up to the gravestones and pay personal respects as you please."

Star and Marco walked up to Hekapoo's gravestone. She stood back while he kneeled, and planted a bouquet of orange pansies in the patch of dirt in front of the stone. "Hey, H-Poo. I don't know how magic works, or if you can even hear me right now, but...I just wanna say...thank you. Thank you for keeping your word with my scissors, thank you for giving me that stupid bald spot, thank you for saving our butts more times than I can count. Most importantly, though, thank you for being my friend throughout all those years in the Neverzone. I hope you're resting easy." He let out a sniffle, wiped his tears away, and stood back up.

"You okay?" Star asked him in concern.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good," he replied. "I'm gonna miss her, but...I know she wouldn't want me crying over her grave like this, so I just...gotta move on." Star put her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a small smile.

"It's okay, Marco. You'll move on, we all will."

Next, they walked to Glossaryck's gravestone. Star placed a bouquet of purple daisies in front of the stone. She stood back up next to Marco. Eclipsa and Moon joined them.

"I...can't believe he's gone," Star began. "He's been with the Butterfly family since...well...since the beginning. Gosh, it feels like yesterday I stuck him in my mouth as a baby, like he was some sort of chew toy."

"You did that to him too?" Moon and Eclipsa asked her in unison. The three began to giggle uncontrollably.

"I can't believe that," Moon stated. "I guess it was kind of like a...Butterfly tradition." They continued to chuckle. After a few seconds, Star let out a sigh.

"Y'know, he was _totally_ a pain sometimes..." Star started. Marco silently nodded his head in the background. "...but...he always knew what was best for us. He always kept pushing us to learn, to grow in our ability to do magic. Some of his methods were certainly..._questionable_...but now that it's all said and done, I couldn't thank him enough for it." She turned to the gravestone with a slight smile and a tear in her eye. "Thank you, Glossaryck."

"Well, my family and I ought to get going," Eclipsa said. "Being Queen and Mayor at the same time certainly demands a _lot_ of work. Say 'bye-bye,' Meteora!" Meteora, who was being carried by Eclipsa, was very tired. She could barely muster a "bah bah." She left to get Globgor, who was currently having an interesting conversation with River about the difference between meat and vegan foods.

"Ugh, I guess I better go get River and head out as well," Moon said begrudgingly. "We have a lot of errands to run today, as we're currently trying to renovate Butterfly Castle. It's certainly going to take a while, but it needs to be done so we can keep a strong history of magic and the Butterfly lineage. You two be safe, now."

"We will, Mom. Good luck!" Star responded before giving her mother a quick hug. She began to walk away. Mr and Mrs. Diaz had already made their way home, knowing Marco was planning on taking Star somewhere else after the funeral.

Star turned to her boyfriend. "You ready to go, Marco?" He looked at the gravestones for a moment before making eye contact with her.

"...Yeah, yeah I am," he responded with a smile. They locked hands before making their walk towards the exit of the funeral garden. "Sooo..." Marco began. "...I was wondering if you would...uh...want to go get some...Chinese food? For old time's sake?" Star looked at him with a smug face.

"Are you...asking me out on our first actual date, Diaz?" Star asked, making Marco turn red.

"I-I mean we totally don't have to go if you don't want to but...y-yeah?" he confessed nervously.

"And...you're suggesting that we have our first date at a local Chinese food joint," she assumed. Marco collected himself, and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Star. I know our first date probably means a lot to you...I should ha-"

"I love it." she proudly stated. Marco looked at her, confused. "Marco, our first date _does_ mean a lot to me, but...I don't want to go to some fancy, delicate restaurant or anything like that. I want our first date be like _us._ We are _not_ super fancy. We're a casual, carefree couple that has its fair share of flaws and crazy moments. Kinda like a local Chinese joint. And you know what? I love that," she said, giving her boyfriend an endearing smile. There was nothing Marco could do to stop himself from giving her just the same. "Plus, I could kill for some noodles right now," she finished. They both let out a good laugh.

"Well, I guess it's settled then," Marco said.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Star smugly responded. "Now lead the way, squire!" She teased.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," he quickly responded before tugging her along the streets of Earthni, hoping the Chinese restaurant they went to so long ago was still open, and intact for that matter.


	7. Chapter 7: First Date

Star and Marco made their way through downtown Earthni. They walked past many different restaurants and stores in search of the Chinese joint. "Let's see," Marco began. "There's that old shoe store, there's that clothes shop no one ever liked, the restaurant should be right around...here!" Star and Marco looked up, and surely enough, the building in front of them was clearly Chinese inspired, and the windows gave them glimpses of humans, mewmans, and monsters enjoying a cheap meal. The pair walked inside and were greeted by a monster waitress, who escorted them to a booth near the back of the building. Star was happy to see that humans were so willing to accept monsters into society so fast, unlike another certain race she knew. She assumed that the many cheesy movies that interpreted monsters as the good guys helped humans quickly understand. She ordered noodles, while Marco decided to order dumplings. As they waited for their food to be served, Star decided to strike up a conversation.

"Isn't it something?"

"What?"

"That just a couple years ago, we were in here, and I got a fortune cookie addiction because I thought they were actually real?" Marco got a good laugh from being reminded of that day. "We've...really come a long way, haven't we?" she asked him with an endearing smile.

"Yeah. We have," Marco replied, smiling back. The waitress arrived with their meals. They thanked her and she began to walk off, before quickly turning back around.

"I'm sorry, I almost forgot to ask! Would either of you care for a fortune cookie?" the waitress asked, holding out her hand that contained a few wrapped fortune cookies. Marco gave Star a smirk. "Apparently they used to bake them themselves, but the lady who used to do them retired a few months ago, sorry about that." Star sat for a moment, thinking it over.

"Eh, why not?" Star said, facing the waitress. She grabbed one from her hand, and thanked her before she went to serve another table.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Marco smugly asked her.

"Oh, shut it, Diaz. We can reminisce a little, can't we?" she said, before tearing open the wrapping. She split the fortune cookie in half and read it out loud. "It says, 'To stay at peace, you should continue to eat...Chinese food...'" her eyes half-closed at the realization of the obvious joke on the slip of paper. "Why did I worship these things again?" she asked Marco, who laughed in response.

They enjoyed the rest of their food, and after a few minutes the waitress came back with a bill and a place to put money. Marco grabbed the bill and examined it. He let out a sigh.

"Of course."

"No way..." Star started with shock in her face. She thought this place was supposed to be cheap. Was that much money really the norm for Earth restaurants? "It actually cost-"

"Yep, thirteen dollars and thirty-seven cents." Star was not expecting _that_ answer, but it was certainly cheaper than what she thought he was going to say, so she had no complaints. "I swear, every time I come here, the price never changes. No matter what I order. It's like I'm cursed with some 'constant price' spell."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Star assured him. He pulled out his wallet and began digging for a Hamilton and a Lincoln.

"Marco, let me get part of the bill, I've still got some Earth money on me."

"For our first date? No way, Star, I've got it."

"But, Marco, you can't just take me out on a date and not let me pay for at least _some_ of it."

"I just did," he said, while he handed the waitress, who recently returned to the table, the bill and the cash.

"You two have a good night, now," the lady said before walking off one last time.

"Thank you, you too," Marco kindly responded. He turned back to Star, who was still mildly upset about Marco paying for everything. "Okay, you know what? If it makes you that upset, I'll strike you a deal. I'll pay for when we eat out, you pay for when we order food at home. Deal?" he asked reaching out his hand for a shake. Star sighed, but gave him a smile and shook his hand.

"Deal," she stated. She didn't let go of his hand after the shake. They got up from their seat at the booth and Star began walking. "C'mon, let's get out of this place." He followed her, still holding her hand. "You know, for a cheap Chinese dump, the food was surprisingly just as good as I remembered."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Star," Marco replied as they walked out the front door and onto the sidewalk of downtown Earthni. He looked at his watch. It read "5:00 PM." "Well Star, is there anything else you wanna do for our first date before we head back home?"

"Yeah, actually. I think we should take a walk through the park. That sound good to you?"

"Star, as long as you're here with me, I don't care what we do." She wanted to tackle him and smooch him right then and there, but she restrained herself. For now. "C'mon, I know a shortcut." Star followed him until they made it to the park.

———

They began walking through the park, hand in hand. "Marco, look! Those weird, glowy, crystal things are spread throughout the park!" Marco looked around, and along with the many trees planted in the ground, he saw different sized and different colored crystals that seemingly lit up the now dark park.

"Wow, they make this old, busted park look...really pretty, actually," Marco said in slight amazement. They continued walking. Star spotted a bench.

"Hey, let's sit down for a bit," she said, gesturing towards it. They finally rested their legs after a large amount of walking. The bench barely fit two people, so they touched hips when they sat down. Star let out a sigh of relief. "Whew! I needed that."

"Agreed," Marco added. Star looked up at the sky, which was beginning to lose its light. She then turned her head downwards and looked around the park. It seemed that no one else in Earthni wanted to take an evening stroll. She pulled out her phone.

"Let's take a picture...oh shoot! I forgot, my phone doesn't work anymore!" She began to slightly panic as she scrolled through her phone. She calmed herself down when she saw that the past photos she took were still there. She just needed a new phone, one that wasn't built from magic, so she could transfer the photos and make future pictures and calls.

"That's okay, we can use mine," Marco assured her. He got his phone and opened the camera app. He put on selfie mode and made sure he got her in the picture, along with some crystals in the background. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled with him. He snapped the picture, then went to his photos app to open it. "What do you think, Star?" She looked at the photo for a few seconds, examining her cheeks. Her face fell ever-so slightly.

"Hm," she said.

"You...don't like it?"

"What? No no no, the picture's great! It's just..."

"It's your cheeks, isn't it? Star, don't worry about it, I think you look great either way."

"Thank you, Marco, that's really sweet, but...that's not the problem." She took a minute to continue. "My magic is...gone. No more spells, no more butterfly mode, _nothing._" She looked at Marco with a worried expression as she placed a hand on his leg. "Marco, w-what if we get into trouble? Like..._big_ trouble? I won't have any magic to help us! If you get hurt, there's nothing I can do, I-"

"Star." Marco started, looking deep into her blue eyes. She calmed down. "First of all, I think we both know by now that magic doesn't define you. You are the strongest person I know, and not having magic doesn't change that." She blushed at his confidence in that statement. "Second, sure, your powers are gone, but no one else on Earth has any magical powers either. We just have to figure things out...the normal way. You've lived on Earth with me for a while, and I know you've learned a lot about it, so if we _do_ get into trouble, there's no doubt in my mind that we'll get through it..."

"...as long as we're together," Star finished for him. They looked at each other for a moment with a glimmer in their eyes. They smiled. He cupped her cheek as he brought his lips to hers. She gladly returned the kiss, closing her eyes. She began tugging on his hoodie. This kiss felt...different. More intimate, more passionate. Marco's cheeks began to glow, and two red crescents could be seen. Star's cheeks also lit up, and two pink hearts formed. After the first break for air, they gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, breathing heavily. They then saw each other's marks. Marco ran his thumbs over her hearts.

"Beautiful..." he said proudly. Star traced her index finger over his right crescent moon and his mole just above it.

"Handsome..." Star responded.

The moment didn't last much longer, for they connected once again. Then again. They didn't plan on stopping. Marco leaned his body forward, forcing Star to lean back slightly on the bench. She was slightly surprised by his bold move, but she didn't mind at all. "Mmm..." she cooed, unable to control her voice any longer. After a few more seconds, they finally separated, panting. She looked up at him.

"Marco..." she began between breaths. "...we should...probably stop," she suggested, chuckling. He began laughing as well.

"Yeah, you're right." He sat up straight, pulling her up alongside him. He got up from the bench and offered her his hand. She gladly took it, and she stood up. They began their tread home. The walk to the Diaz household was mostly silent, but in a good way. Neither of them could stop thinking about what happened at the park. It was simply magical. They were red almost the entire way home.

———

They knocked on the door and, after a few seconds, were greeted by Angie. She let them in and invited them to have dinner with the rest of the family. Marco looked at his watch, which read "6:30 PM." They both figured "why not" and sat down at the dinner table with Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. Rafael handed them a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.

"Tonight was my turn to cook," Angie stated proudly. "I've been learning about making good meatballs from Gustav, so I hope you like them!"

Star and Marco thanked her and began eating. After a few minutes, Marco began to take a sip of water.

"So..." Angie began. "...how was your date?" she asked, smiling. Marco almost spit out said water.

"How the heck did you know we were on a date?" Marco asked.

"Oh, Marco, you thought I'd just fall for that 'we're going to hang with some friends tonight' spiel you gave me this morning? I'm your mother, I have my ways." she said with a smug expression.

"It was perfect, Mrs. Diaz," Star answered her original question.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" Rafael exclaimed. "I always had a feeling there was something between you both."

"Y'know, I think _everybody_ did, now that I look back," Star admitted.

"Well, as long as you two are happy now, I'm happy," Angie said, smiling. She stood up, and began picking up everyone's empty plates. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you guys, Rafael, Mariposa, and I are going on a vacation, starting tomorrow."

"Yes, after all of that magic and 'Earthni' business, I think we need a bit of a break," Rafael admitted. "We've saved up enough points to stay at a hotel in Honolulu!"

"Oh my gosh, I heard the beaches are so pretty there!" Star gushed.

"How long will you guys be gone?" Marco asked.

"Oh, we shouldn't be gone for more than a week or two," Angie began. "There's plenty of food in the refrigerator, but I know if it starts getting low you'll take care of it, Marco." He nodded his head in response. "Well, we should get back to packing," she said as she finished washing the dishes. Angie and Rafael then went to their bedroom to finish getting all of their clothes together. Mariposa was already fast asleep in her crib upstairs, dreaming about the playdate Angie and Eclipsa scheduled for her and Meteora tomorrow, a little before they leave for the airport.

Star and Marco got up from their seats at the table and made their way to the living room couch, deciding to chill out and watch some television. Star had recently changed clothing, and was wearing a teal t-shirt with a pink squid on the front, along with some pink shorts. Marco took off his hoodie and placed it on the rack near the front door, now wearing a gray t-shirt and some black joggers. "Well, that came out of nowhere," he stated as he began to lay his body across the couch. His back was facing the back cushions, and his head rested on a pillow leaned on the left arm rest.

"A couple of weeks here by ourselves, huh?" Star said as she lay down right in front of him on the couch. Her back faced his front. "I guess that means we can do more of _this_." she said with a smug look on her face, before scooching back a little. Their bodies touched, and their faces turned warm. Star began to snuggle herself into his chest, which she could tell was certainly beginning to have a strong definition, due to so much karate training and fighting. She certainly wasn't complaining, though. Marco decided to make the next move and wrapped his arm around her waist, which in turn pulled her even closer to him. He grabbed her horn headband, and placed it on the floor. She didn't mind. He then leaned his head on the back of hers. Her blonde hair felt soft, and welcoming. They tried to stay awake and continue watching TV, but it was to no avail. They couldn't help but doze off together.

Angie walked out of the bedroom an hour later, and found them there on the couch, the TV still on. She smiled at them, before hitting the power button on the remote, finding a spare blanket, gently placing it over them, and flipping the lamp switch off. She then headed back into her and Rafael's bedroom to get ready for her own cuddle session with the love of her life.

To everyone in the Diaz household, all was right in the world.

———

**Someone needs to stop me. The Starco fluff has fully c****onsumed my soul at this point. May God help us all.**


	8. Chapter 8: Plans

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Diaz! Bye Mariposa! Have fun on your triiiip!" Star said to the trio in her sing-song voice as they began to walk to their car in the late afternoon of a peaceful Thursday.

"Bye Star! Marco, could you be a dear and help me with my suitcase?" Angie asked her son.

"Uh, yeah, sure mom," he responded. He grabbed the hot pink luggage and carried it to the trunk. After he loaded it, Angie grabbed his arm.

"Hey, can we talk for a second?"

"O-of course," Marco said to her, slightly nervous. She looked around to make sure no one was listening, leaned in a bit closer and talked in a softer voice.

"Listen, I really am happy for you and Star, but you two are about to be alone for quite some time, so I've gotta set some ground rules." Marco listened. "First off, under _no_ circumstances should you or Star be out of the house later than eleven at night. It's just too dangerous, understand?" he nodded. "Second, I want you to make sure that you keep an eye on Star, at _all_ times when you two are alone. She means a lot to us, too, and if anything bad were to happen to her...well we don't know what we'd do."

"Trust me, mom, you won't have to worry about that."

"I know, honey, just making sure. Lastly..._don't_...do anything stupid...please," she stated, making eye contact with her son. He realized what she was implying, and turned slightly red.

"I won't. I promise."

"Good. You know your father and I trust you completely, I mean, heck we're leaving you alone with a teenage girl for a couple weeks; but...it just needed to be said, considering you're both still teenagers and...y'know."

"It's okay. I understand," he replied, smiling. She smiled in return.

"Alright, you two have fun. Bye son, I love you," she said, hugging him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Love you too," Marco replied, returning the brace. "Oh! Give dad a hug for me! I know he's busy in the car so...yeah."

"I will! Bye!" Angie said before getting in the shotgun seat of the the car. They began to drive off, and Rafael could be seen waving at the two, honking his horn tuned to "La Cucaracha." They waved back before the car began to seemingly slowly get smaller and smaller in the distance. Marco walked back to the front door, where Star was still waiting.

"So, what'd your mom have to say?" Star asked him.

"Oh, well, uh, she just said that we need to be home by eleven every night, and to stay out of trouble."

"Coooool. Well, Marco, now that we're here...what should we dooo...hmmm..." she began to pace back and forth in front of the door. "What to do, what to do, what to do. Ugh, think, you stupid, mushy brain!" All of a sudden, the two heard an iconic "neigh" from the clouds. Sure enough, the bodiless pony flew down to the front of the Diaz house in style.

"Haaayyy gurl!"

"Ponyhead!" Star exclaimed, hugging her neck, literally.

"Ooooh, gurl, you have no idea how good it is to see you after this whole Earthni biz." she turned her head to the left and saw Marco. She let out a light gasp. "Earth-turd!"

"Hey, Ponyhead," Marco said to her.

"Y'know, believe it or not, I missed you too...just a little bit, though."

"Heheh, touché, Pony," Marco responded, smiling.

"So, what are you doing here anyways, Pony?" Star asked.

"Well, I came here because tonight, we are having a guuurrrrls niiight!" Pony exclaimed. "It's at Janna's place in thirty minutes, and you're invited!" Star gasped.

"That's awesome! Of course I'll co-" Star stopped herself for a moment. She turned to Marco in realization. "Wait. Marco, you'd be here all by yourself. I can't just...ditch you here."

"W-What? No no no, Star, it's totally fine!" he began. "You go have a girls night, and I'll find some of my bros to hang with."

"You sure?" Star asked.

"Of course! Besides, I think we both have some serious catching up to do." Star smiled at him.

"Well, I guess it's settled then."

"Yaaasss!" Pony exclaimed. "We better go ahead and leave now, it's a long walk from here, or...flight, in my case."

"Alrighty! Bye Marco!" Star said, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. "Stay outta trouble, Safe Kid," she said with a smirk.

"As to you, Rebel Princess," Marco responded smugly. They separated and Star began to walk to Janna's house with Ponyhead. Marco watched them walk off into the distance, before pulling out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and found the person he was looking for. He dialed the number. After a few seconds, the other end picked up.

"Marco Diaz. What's up man?"

"Hey, Tom, how have you been holding up during all this?"

"Well, thankfully I still have access to the underworld, so I'm back home."

"Wait, I thought that you couldn't use your portal thing because Magic was messed up, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but that was for when I was trying to go to _other_ dimensions. As a demon, I'll always be able to go to the underworld, magic or not."

"Sweet. Well, hey, I was wondering if you'd wanna come hang at my place with some of my friends from school. Y'know, just a guys hang-out."

"Sounds great, dude. I'll be there in just a few, gotta help my mom out with some chores first."

"Alright, bro, see ya then." Marco hung up, then immediately scrolled to another contact and began a call. It picked up almost immediately.

"Hey Marco!"

"Sup, Ferg. Is Alphonso there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was just gonna see if you two would wanna come over to my place and hang for a bit with a demon I'm friends with."

"A demon!? Holy cow, that's bonkers, bro!" Alphonso said in the background.

"Yeah, that sounds sick," Ferguson began. "But, we're in the middle of a _really_ intense game of 'D and D' right now."

"WE'VE COME TOO FAR TO FALL!" Alphonso exclaimed in the background triumphantly. Another set of voices could be heard whispering "dude, shut up."

"Sorry, man, we're gonna have to pass this time. But hey, we've still got plenty of summer left! Some other time."

Marco let out a slight sigh. "Alright, then. See you guys later."

"Later, muchacho!" Ferguson said. The call ended. Marco turned to the front door.

"Guess it's...just the two of us then..." he said to himself. He shook his head. "Oh, what are you so nervous about, Diaz? It'll be cool, he's your best bro...whose...ex you've just started dating. And he doesn't know yet. Tooootally cool," He twisted the knob and stepped inside. He sighed as he looked around.

"I've got a lot of cleaning up to do."


	9. Chapter 9: Night Out

Star knocked on the door, Ponyhead standing beside her. An "I'll get it!" could be heard from inside. The door opened.

"Well if it isn't Star Butterfly."

"Hey Jackie!" Star responded.

"Whaddup gurl?" Pony asked.

"Nothin' much, just ready to have a killer girls night. Come on in, you guys are missing the fun. Everyone's in Janna's room." They stepped inside. Star waved to Janna's parents.

"Oh, I remember you," Mrs. Ordonia said. "Did you hear? Canada moved here. It's so nice."

"Yeaaahhhh, it sure is something. Uh...talk to you guys later." She decided to leave the greeting at that. They headed upstairs and faced the bedroom door. Jackie twisted the knob and the three saw two girls inside.

"STAAARRRR!" StarFan13 exclaimed, rushing from the bed to the door.

"Oh, brother," Janna said with a sigh, still sitting on the bed. Star gave StarFan a high five. StarFan examimed Star's cheeks, and gasped.

"You're cheekmarks are gone. It looks...AMAZING." she gushed as she ripped off the fake heart stickers on her own cheeks. They walked inside and gathered around the bed.

"Hey, Janna Banana," Star said to her.

"Sup, Star. Sup, Pony."

"Ooooh I am PUMPED," Ponyhead stated. "It's been waaaaaay too long since we all hung out like this."

"Yeah," Jackie responded. "If only Chloe could have made it. She had to meet with her parents tonight, unfortunately. But, hey, where's that...tree girl?"

"Kelly?" Star corrected her. "Yeah, she's...from _another_ dimension, and magic is destroyed, so..."

"She's gone for good, huh?" Janna asked. "Well, at least she's probably doing alright."

"Yeah," Star added.

"We have some fallen comrades, but you know what? We. Must. Prevail!" Ponyhead exclaimed.

"Yeah, Pony's right," Jackie said. "Let's try to make this girls night the best it can be."

———

As Marco was sweeping up the kitchen, he heard a _"Ding Dong!"_ from the front door. "Oh geez, he's here!" Marco said to himself. He put away the cleaning supplies and ran to the front door and opened it.

"Hey bro!" Tom said, holding out his hand.

"Sup, T-Tom," Marco responded, bringing his hand to Tom's and giving it a shake.

"Uh, dude? You alright? Your hand's kinda...wet," Tom said as they separated hands.

"Whaaaat? No, it's not wet, it's just a little sweat...I MEAN, uh, NOT SWEAT, it's uh...from...washing my hands, yep!" Marco responded, nervously smiling.

"Ooookay..." Tom said. "Well, can I come in?"

"Of course!" Tom stepped inside.

"Wow, Marco. Now that I get a good look at it, your place is actually pretty nice." Tom made his way to the living room couch and took a seat. Marco followed him, but was hesitant of sitting. "C'mon, bro, chillax." Tom patted the cushion next to him.

"O-okay." Marco slowly sat down. The sweat all over his body only flowed more as he tried to "chillax." "Sooo...how's, uh...being single?"

"Aw, man, it's great. I can finally just relax, and...be my own person for a while, y'know?" Tom responded, smiling.

"That's g-great! Uh..." Marco looked for a way to change the conversation he just put them in. He felt his phone in his pocket. "Hey, I just realized I have that new Love Sentence album downloaded. Wanna...jam out?" he asked.

"Dude, is that even a question? Let's get this show started!" Marco connected his phone to the speaker, and started the album.

———

The girls were spread out across the room. Janna was lying on her bed, bouncing a tennis ball from the wall to her hand. StarFan and Star were painting each other's nails, while Jackie was teaching Ponyhead how to play chess.

"Okay, that's all the rules of chess, Pony," Jackie stated proudly.

"Alright, I'm finally ready to kick your butt at it!" Ponyhead exclaimed. Jackie giggled.

"You sure? Chloe taught me _all_ her tricks, and she plays it a lot."

"Pshhh, I'm a fast learner," Ponyhead responded smugly. The other girls began to observe the match. Ponyhead picked up a piece with her teeth and set it down. Then Jackie. Then Ponyhead. Then Jackie. Then Ponyhead.

"Uh, Pony? Why do you keep moving the same piece when it's your turn?" Star asked as Pony finished her turn by moving the knight once again. She looked at the piece's shape, then back to Star.

"Don't question my strategies, B-Fly." Everyone got a good laugh, and went back to doing their own activities.

"So, Star, how's Marco doing?" Janna asked her, still bouncing the tennis ball.

"Fine," Star nonchalantly responded, finishing StarFan's nails.

"Oh, come on, I think you can say more than _that_ about your _boyfriend_." All the other girls made a collective "oooooooo!"

"I- wha- h-how the heck do you know about that!?"

"Camera on Marco, remember?" Janna replied with a smirk.

Star turned beet red. She was horrified of asking how much she saw.

"JANNA ORDONIA IF YOU DO NOT SHUT OFF THAT CAMERA RIGHT NOW SO HELP ME I-"

"Okay okay okay I will!" Janna assured her, grabbing her laptop. She clicked on a program and typed in some letters. "See? Off for good." Star let out a sigh of relief.

"Honestly, at this point, I don't know why I'm still surprised at your Jannanigans." Star said with a hand over her face.

"So you two finally got together, huh?" Jackie asked. "I knew it," she said with a smug smile.

"I. SHIP. IT." StarFan loudly stated, pounding her fists to the floor with every word.

"Alright, alright, enough about that," Star said, lightly chuckling, still blushing. She took this time to look over at the alarm clock next to the bed. "Holy narwhals! Ten-thirty already?"

"Time flies when you're havin' fun, girl," Jackie responded.

"Well, y'know what, I am NOT having fun right now," Ponyhead added, showing her three pieces left on the chess board compared to Jackie's thirteen. "This game is boguussss!"

"Hey, what can I say? You asked for it."

"Ugghhh," Pony grumbled.

"Hey, girls, I gotta go. Mr. and Mrs. Diaz gave me and Marco a curfew while they're gone for a vacation, and we have to be at home by eleven." Star walked to the door.

"Alright, Star, see ya later," Janna said.

"Bye, Star!" everyone else chimed.

"Later," she said before closing the door behind her. She walked downstairs and thanked Janna's parents before making her way home.

———

Marco and Tom were in the middle of the living room, grooving to the beats that played on the speaker, making sure not to step on the box of pizza they ordered. They didn't know any of the words, but that didn't stop them from dancing. The final song of the album came to its end, and the two sat back down, laughing.

"Phew, man that was awesome! Can never go wrong with LS," Tom said, high-giving Marco.

"Agreed," Marco replied.

"Hey, I've been thinking about something," Tom began as he turned to face Marco. "What were you so nervous about earlier? Y'know, when I walked in?" Marco began to remember.

"O-oh that? I wasn't nervous, I-"

"Dude, I know when you're nervous. Listen, if something's bothering you, let's just talk about it." Marco gave him a slight smile, before taking a deep breath.

"...Tom, I was nervous because...I...we...S-Star and I started dating!" Marco said, before looking straight down. A few seconds of silence passed.

"Okay," Tom nonchalantly said. Marco looked up at him in surprise.

"...Wait. You're...not gonna kill me?"

"Kill you? Why the heck would I do that? Marco, when I said that it was cool if you and Star got together, I meant it."

"I know what you said, I just...it happened so fast, and I thought that would've made you upset, and I didn't want to tell you because I thought it'd ruin our friendship, and..."

"Marco." Tom put his hand on Marco's shoulder. "I broke up with Star for a reason. As much as I still liked her, I could tell that she felt more at home with you. I mean, why you _think_ she came to Earth instead of going on that trip with me?"

Marco stayed silent, but he knew what he said was true.

"Listen, the point is: you and Star? I'm one-hundred percent for it, dude. I can finally say that I've moved on, and I just wanna take some time to be my own person, y'know? And, hey, you're my best bro. Nothing's ever gonna change that," he said, smiling. They embraced.

"Thanks, Tom." They heard the front door open.

"Oh. Uh...did I interrupt...something?" Star asked. Tom and Marco quickly separated.

"Star?" Marco said. "Wait, what time is it?" Tom looked at his watch. His eyes widened.

"Ten forty-seven!? How the- okay, I gotta go _right now!_ Oh, man, my mom is gonna _kill_ me." He opened his gateway to the underworld. "Bye Marco. Bye Star."

"Bye, Tom," the two said in unison. The gateway closed and Tom left with it. Star and Marco were left in the living room alone. They decided to begin making their way upstairs.

"Soooo, was that a...bro bonding moment?" Star asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Marco said. "How was girls night?"

"It was fun," Star said. "I got Janna to get rid of that weird camera thingy on your body."

"Oh, thank goodness. Wait...does that mea-"

"Yep," she stated. Marco sighed.

"I need sleep."

"Couldn't agree more on that one, Diaz." Marco couldn't tell if she was talking about herself, or him. Or maybe even a little bit of both. They both walked to their respective bedroom doors. They looked at each other.

"Goodnight, Star."

"'Night, Marco." They entered their bedrooms, and got dressed and ready for sleep. Marco crawled into his covers, switched his lamp off, and shut his eyes; same as Star. He tossed and turned, but couldn't seem to drift off, no matter how hard he tried. He let out a light sigh, before switching his lamp on and getting out of bed. He walked to the door and opened it. Star was right outside, facing him. They both blushed.

"You can't sleep either, huh?" Marco asked. Star shook her head. Marco stepped out of the way. She walked in, and he shut the door behind them. "Do you wanna..."

"Y-Yeah," she replied. Marco got back on one side of the bed, and patted the other side. She smiled at him, before crawling up there herself. He switched the lamp off once more. This time it didn't take very long for them to scoot close together. The puppies had found their way into Marco's room earlier, so they hopped up on the edge of the bed, and began to doze off one-by-one. Star and Marco looked at them, then at each other, and smiled.

"Hey," they said in unison. Marco snorted while Star giggled for a few moments.

"Well, how was hanging with Tom?" Star asked.

"Good, good," Marco replied.

"Does he...?"

"Yeah," he responded. Star stayed silent for a few seconds. "He was...cool with it, though," he assured her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's...he's really changed," Marco said with a slight smile.

"I'm glad we're still his friends."

"Me too," he added. Star grabbed his hand and firmly held onto it.

"Goodnight, Marco," Star said as she leaned her head slightly upward to plant a kiss on his lips, which he gladly returned.

"Goodnight, Star." They finally closed their eyes in satisfaction.


	10. Quick Update

Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you guys a quick update. I'm currently going through a _tiny_ writer's block, and I also just got back from vacation. Just letting you guys know that it may be another day or two before the next chapter. Thank you all for your continued support, and once again, sorry in advance that this next chapter might take a little bit longer.


	11. Chapter 10: The Future

Star and Marco decided to spend the early afternoon of the next day watching their favorite TV shows in the living room. The two were currently laid out on the couch, enjoying a bowl of Marco's famous nachos.

"Mmm, sooooo good," Star gushed as she put another handful of the nachos in her mouth. "You don't know how much I missed your awesome triangle food! Wait, didn't you say Janna made you hate them?"

"Yeah," Marco nonchalantly replied. "But as long as you enjoy eating them, I'll always enjoy making them."

"Aww, thanks Marco," she replied with a smile, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Although...I _am_ getting kinda parched. You wanna head by the 'Stop and Slurp' and get a smoothie?"

"Sure!" she happily responded. They got up from their comfortable seat and headed out the door. After a fairly long walk to the most popular convenience store in town, Marco went inside and bought two blueberry smoothies. The pair then sat on the sidewalk right outside the store, cups in hand. As they slurped, Principal Skeeves walked by and stopped right in front of them.

"Hello, Ms. Butterfly. Good afternoon, Mr. Diaz. I hope you two are enjoying this..._eventful_ summer."

"Definitely," the two responded in unison. Skeeves moved his eyes towards Marco.

"Marco, my boy, I'm glad you've decided to reenroll and join us next semester. I hope you plan on doing the same, Star." He took this time to gaze at his watch for a moment, before showing a shocked expression. "Goodness, I almost forgot about my date! I'll see you both some other time. Goodbye for now!" Skeeves said, before continuing his stroll with a quickened pace. Star looked at Marco in confusion, finishing her drink before getting up to toss it into the nearest trash can.

"Wait, you're reenrolling? I thought you already got your high school diploma."

"I mean...kinda, but I'm not sure if it's still one-hundred percent valid, y'know, since Earthni happened. Besides, I didn't want to just stay at home while you went to school without me." Star remained silent. "You..._are_ reenrolling, right Star?"

"Marco, I don't think...I really want to," she responded.

"What!? Star, are you crazy!?" Marco asked her with a surprised look on his face.

"Ugh, but everything is just so boooring," Star groaned. "Not to mention that...I'm just..."

"Star, you've gotta finish high school! There's no way I'm going to college withou-"

"I'M JUST NOT SMART ENOUGH OKAY!?" she interrupted with a shout. Marco was slightly taken back by her sudden frustration. A few moments of silence passed, before Star sighed. "Look..." she began with a much softer voice, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "...when I went to high school with you...I basically failed every test I took. I don't even know how I managed to pass, to be honest. My parents probably bribed Skeeves with some more gold to pass me. But the point is...if I'm a failure at high school, then there's no point in even _trying_ to make it to college."

"Star..."

"I'm...gonna go ahead and go home. I'll talk to you later," Star finished, before beginning to walk down the sidewalk, head facing the ground. Marco stood up to try to confront her, but he noticed something in the distance, heading straight towards her at a fairly high speed: a bycicle, mounted by a teenaged monster who clearly wasn't paying any attention to where he was going. At least he had a helmet on. Marco ran as fast as he could to get to Star, as the bike got closer and closer.

"STAR!" he shouted, trying to get her attention.

"Huh?" she murmered, before lifting her head up to see what the problem was. She gasped, but she knew it was too late to get out of the way, so she shut her eyes and braced for impact. She felt herself hit the ground. A few seconds passed before she decided to open her eyes. She checked her arms and legs. No cuts or scrapes, not even a bruise. She lifted her head to see the careless teenager pick himself up from the ground. He looked around, before locking his eyes on something. She heard him say "oh shoot" under his breath, before running away as fast as he could. Confused, she picked herself up, and dusted herself off, before she saw Marco, lying on the cold, hard asphalt, clearly unconscious.

"MARCO!" Star ran to his body, quickly dropping to her knees. She put her hands on his cheeks to lift his head. "Marco, are you okay!? C-can you hear me? Please...talk to me..._say something_!" Water formed in her eyes once again, but much quicker this time. A few tears made their way down her cheek, and dripped onto Marco's iconic red hoodie. Thousands of thoughts quickly spun around inside her head. She tried to concentrate and remember what to do in this kind of situation. She sniffled, wiped the tears from her face, took a deep breath, and made her decision. She lifted Marco off the ground, and carried him bridal style. She remembered that one time when Marco told her where the city hospital was located. She ran in that direction, as quickly as she could.

———

It was fairly peaceful evening for the emergency room office at Earthni Medical Center. At least, until a teenage girl kicked open the door, with a boy in a red hoodie in her arms. She sprinted to the front desk as people waiting in seats around her gasped.

"Doctor. Now," Star said to the lady at the front desk, heavily breathing. The lady quickly called for help, and a few seconds later, nurses came in through the door that led to the rest of the hospital. They brought a stretcher and placed Marco on it, before quickly making their way to the nearest empty patient room. Star followed, until they opened a door and rushed Marco inside. She watched from right outside the door. She saw them carefully place him on the bed. She heard footsteps approaching behind her, so she turned around to face them. A tall, middle-aged man in a white coat faced her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"A-A bike was heading towards me, and...he shoved me out of the way. All I knew was that he was on the ground and wasn't moving. I didn't know what else to do, I-"

"Ma'am, it's alright. You did the right thing, and that takes a lot of courage," the doctor said, trying to calm her. "Sit over in that chair, and I'll go see what the matter is." Star followed his instruction, and watched him enter the room, closing the door behind him. She covered her face with her hands, before letting herself sob.

———

Seventeen minutes passed. The door finally opened, and the doctor stepped outside. Star held her breath. He turned, and looked down at her with a calm expression. "He's gonna be just fine." she let out a deep sigh of relief, and let herself breathe. "He just had a mild concussion. Probably hit his head on the ground when the bike crashed into him. We'd like for him to stay with us for the rest of the day, though, just to make sure he recovers completely. He should be waking up soon, would you like to see him?"

"Yes, please," Star responded. The doctor led her inside, and showed her the empty seat next to the bed where Marco was lying. She sat down, and the doctor left the room. A few minutes passed, but she didn't take her eyes off him. After what seemed like ages to Star, Marco finally opened his eyes and locked them onto hers.

"...Hey..." he murmured with a faint smile.

"Marco!" Star exclaimed as she quickly ran over to his bedside and carefully wrapped her arms around him. After a few moments, she slightly pulled away to face him. "I'm so sorry...for yelling at you, for not paying attention, for-"

"Hey, it's okay," he began as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Y'know, you...didn't let me finish earlier. I was gonna say that there was no way I'd go to college...without _you._ Star, you're the smartest girl I know, without a doubt. Sure, you didn't do well in class last year, but we had so much going on. You probably didn't even _try_ to study because of everything happening with magic. You can't blame yourself for that. But, hey, now that things are better for the most part, you could really focus this next semester. I'll help you study every night if I have to, I just...I love you, Star, and I want us to be together; for high school, for college, for everything." Star's heart melted. She smiled, before bringing her lips to his. A few seconds passed before they pulled away.

"I love you too, Marco. So much. I'm...sorry for being so negative earlier. After what happened today, there's no doubt in my mind: I _do_ want to give high school another shot, I _do_ want to graduate with you, I _do_ want to go to college with you. I was just so frustrated with myself earlier, I guess I just didn't even think about that. It sounds kinda stupid, now that I say it out loud."

"No, I get it. It happens to everybody, trust me. It's probably just best to move on from this whole thing...well...after I get some sleep, of course," Marco said, lightly chuckling. Star giggled, arms still wrapped around him. He was waiting for the moment they'd separate and she'd say goodbye for the night, but it never came. "You're...not leaving, are you, Star?"

"Pshh, did you seriously think I was gonna let you stay in this boring room by yourself, Diaz?"

"I don't know why I thought anything else," he jokingly responded as they continued to embrace.

They had each other, and whether they realized it yet or not, that was all the motivation they'd ever need.

———

**Thank you all so much for understanding why it took so long to make this chapter, I read every single review and seeing so much support really made my day, I just had to finish up this chapter today. ****I'm gonna be working on a side project for the next few days, so stay tuned for when that's finished. Bye!**


	12. Update: A Break

Hey everyone. Here with an update...again. I need a break. Summer has fully kicked off for me and I just want to spend another week or two relaxing with my friends, before I inevitably continue this fic. I also need to collect my thoughts. I started this fic strong with multiple chapters a day sometimes, probably from the creative high I got right after SVTFOE ended. My brain has cooled down, and I need a bit more time to just let my brain chill out from brainstorming this past month.

I know a lot of you are enjoying this fic, and I thank you for sticking it out so far. I hope you all understand why I need this. Trust me, this fic isn't going anywhere, I'm always thinking about it.

Stay tuned.


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